Chapter 26 The Black Death! Divine Punishment or Curse?
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"Holy crap! What did he say his name was? Magellan?! What?! Is this game really that big, as big as a planet?"
"Are you kidding me?! Magellan's round-the-world trip?! It seems the world is a sphere after all!"
"My god! This guy is even more outrageous than that Bushgomen! He discovered the orc continent, but I can't even imagine what he'd do..."
"Just a wild guess, when he returns from his round-the-world trip, he'll find that Caesar's Empire is gone (thumbs up)!"
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Upon hearing the name of the newcomer, the viewers in the live stream, unlike the ridicule from the nobles present, held high hopes for him.
If Magellan had accomplished this feat, his fame would have surpassed that of Old Chen, and the lie that the end of the sea holds treasure would have been shattered!
"Even the seafaring adventurer Bush Gomen only reached the Orcish continent. What qualifications do you have to cross the Sea of Destiny?"
A hint of interest ignited in Jekadelina's eyes. She lightly traced the edge of the throne with her fingertips and cast a question at the person prostrate below.
He raised his head and gazed at the emperor on the throne, whose interest had been piqued: "All my possessions have been staked on this voyage. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request—!"
"I swear to you, with the dual honors of navigator and astrologer: my voyage across the world is not to surpass Mr. Goman's achievements..."
He paused for a moment, then took out a map from his pocket and laid it flat on the ground.
The content in the image is mostly composed of Chinese characters, but there are still a few annotations in the common language of Irestia.
Almost the instant the blueprints were opened and the Chinese characters appeared, Ye Feng and his two companions were thrown into a frenzy, along with the viewers in the live stream.
"I am here to unravel the clues in the Dead Sea Scrolls concerning the 'Trials of God,' and to prove to the nations of the world..."
"Our world is a perfectly round sphere embraced by stars—!" His tone suddenly rose, his eyes filled with longing and anticipation.
With his hands pressed against the map, his fingertips lightly tracing the route known as the Bush-Gorman Curve, a spark ignited in his eyes.
"If Your Majesty is concerned that the voyage will deplete the national treasury, I am willing to offer my life savings and three Naxita sailing ships as collateral, and earnestly request the Royal Family to dispatch an elite escort fleet to escort us to the Eastern Seas..."
"Afterwards, I will lead the fleet alone across the Sea of Destiny, and even if I perish in the abyss, I will still inscribe an epic in the name of the Caesar Empire!"
With all the nobles of the kingdom as witnesses, Magellan made his vow and then quietly awaited the decision of this legendary emperor.
"Is that so...?" A slight smile had crept onto her lips without her noticing, and Jekaderina withdrew her hand from her side.
"No matter how many lives are lost at sea, swallowed by the waves... you still keep going, one after another, wanting to uncover the truth of the world?"
She stood up, her eyes filled with admiration, and then gestured to the maid below.
After receiving a signal from Jekadrina, the maid respectfully stepped forward, carrying the ceremonial sword covered by exquisite fabric.
Reaching out, Jekaderina grabbed the ceremonial sword and slowly drew it, pointing it directly at Magellan, who was kneeling on one knee.
The sword tipped and struck his right shoulder, the sound of metal scraping against fabric barely audible.
With a slight twist of Jacaderina's wrist, the cold blade of the sword brushed past Magellan's jaw and then touched his left shoulder.
"With this sword as my oath, I grant Magellan the right to embark on a long voyage!"
"To reach the other side of the world, we will advance wave upon wave!"
As the sword was sheathed again, the maidservant beside her once more picked up the tray and respectfully accepted the ceremonial sword.
"May you find the One Piece at the ends of the earth, and may you prove that the world is a perfect sphere... to end the great era of wicked pirates!!"
After awarding Magellan the medal, Jekaterina gently helped him up.
He took two steps back and bowed deeply: "Your subject will certainly live up to your teacher's expectations... and Your Majesty's expectations!"
"Heh..." After catching a certain keyword, Ye Feng and the other two immediately understood, and simultaneously confirmed one thing in their minds.
His mentor was definitely a gamer!
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October 16th, Year 20 of the Great Pirate Era (Year 34 of the Triumph)
Four years later, a vast fleet set sail from the East China Sea, heralding the start of Magellan's life-or-death journey...
Meanwhile, countless rebellions have broken out in the colonies on the orc continent, but all have ended in forceful suppression.
In December of the same year, the Caesar Empire officially began its campaign to eliminate pirates in the seas, with the East China Sea being the first to be dealt with.
Under the principle of "better to kill 1,000 innocent people than let one guilty person go free," the people along the eastern coast suffered terribly...
In February of the following year, Shanks was given a bounty of 2 billion gold coins, and Lovelace was given a bounty of 500 million gold coins.
In April, Shanks declared himself Emperor on the Northern Land Route of the Sea of Destiny…
In June of the 25th year of the Great Pirate Era, on the continent of Arestia, a large number of orc slaves in various plantations and concentration camps experienced symptoms of dizziness and weakness, which were highly contagious. Because the disease only spread among orcs, it did not receive much attention!
In December of the same year, two demon players and one elf player declared themselves emperors at sea, standing against the navy in the Sea of Destiny, thus creating a four-way balance of power!
On March 22nd, 27th year of the Great Pirate Era, malaria, nicknamed "Black Death" by players, broke out "without warning" the moment a rat landed on the continent. It not only infected orcs, but also all races...
A few players have posted screenshots from back then, showing the rat that licked Poseidon's blood after the battle with Poseidon in the Sea of Destiny...
Combined with the fact that many slaves had been bitten by rodents 30 years ago, all the players suddenly realized what had happened.
Three days later, the Seven Stars Heaven intervened to suppress the evil forces and encountered the Golden Rat in the city of Camedor. All four of the Seven Stars Heaven's constellations perished...
The three admirals of the navy, forced by circumstances, resorted to a desperate measure—killing all infected people!
Faced with the Black Death, which even King-level healing magic could not cure and which ignored the boundaries of infection, people classified it as "divine punishment"!
They believed it was a curse and divine punishment from the great creator god, Poseidon, who failed to achieve reunification!
Below the level of a high-ranking mage, all infected individuals develop swollen welts all over their bodies, oozing black blood, with localized tissue rotting and dying, their heads disintegrating into rat heads, transforming them into mindless "black rat people"...
It spread like wildfire along well-developed trade routes, claiming the lives of 20 million people in just three months…
At this point, apart from the pirates entrenched in the Sea of Destiny, the world was in complete chaos!